In the wee hours of the morning, Taylor Swift dropped “Call It What You Want,” her best song since 2014.
“Call It What You Want” is a sparse pop ballad that returns to the Taylor we all fell in love with. These are her best lyrics since 1989; “All my flowers grew back as thorns/windows boarded up after the storm,” is the kind of heartbreakingly beautiful lyric that Taylor perfected on Red but lost for a moment with the reputation pre-singles. While “Look What You Made Me Do” and “…Ready For It?” were too sonically clustered and jarring, and “Gorgeous” was a lyrical monstrosity, “Call It What You Want,” plays perfectly to all of Taylor’s strengths.
From sharp lyricism to soft vocals, “Call It What You Want,” is a home run for Swift. The production is also stellar; Jack Antonoff created the perfect sonic atmosphere for Taylor’s voice on this track. Hopefully, this success means the reputation era is getting somewhat back on track.
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